Steven Erikson

Reaper's Gale (Malazan Book of Fallen 7) (Malazan Book of the Fallen)

All is not well in the Letherii Empire. Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, surrounded by sycophants and agents of his Machiavellian chancellor. Meanwhile, the Letherii secret police conduct a campaign of terror against their own people. The Errant, once a farseeing god, is suddenly blind to the future. Conspiracies seethe throughout the palace, as the empire - driven by the corrupt and self-interested - edges ever-closer to all-out war with the neighboring kingdoms. The great Edur fleet--its warriors selected from countless numbers of people--draws closer. Amongst the warriors are Karsa Orlong and Icarium Lifestealer--each destined to cross blades with the emperor himself. That yet more blood is to be spilled is inevitable... Against this backdrop, a band of fugitives seek a way out of the empire, but one of them, Fear Sengar, must find the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye. It is his hope that the soul might help halt the Tiste Edur, and so save his brother, the emperor. Yet, traveling with them is Scabandari's most ancient foe: Silchas Ruin, brother of Anomander Rake. And his motives are anything but certain - for the wounds he carries on his back, made by the blades of Scabandari, are still fresh. Fate decrees that there is to be a reckoning, for such bloodshed cannot go unanswered--and it will be a reckoning on an unimaginable scale. This is a brutal, harrowing novel of war, intrigue and dark, uncontrollable magic; this is epic fantasy at its most imaginative, storytelling at its most thrilling.

Book Seven of The Malazan Book of the Fallen

Reaper's Gale

Sade A

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    "We live in waiting for this most precious thing: Our god with clear eyes. Who walks into the waste of our lives with the bound straw of a broom and with a bright smile. This god brushes into a corner, our mess of crimes, the ragged expostulations we spit out in the morn with each sun's rise"
  


I'm going to be honest, Letherii is not my favourite setting in this series. For the most part because it always feels too outside for lack of a better word on the happenings of the series as a whole. That being said i like to think of this episode in Letherii's history as a sort of foreshadowing maybe of Laseen's rule on the Malazan empire.

I do not think this was Erikson's best to be honest. Reading this, i can totally understand why people tag this series with all the negatives it usually gets. There were a lot of seperate stories in this book and i guess in a way it was tying up ends in Lether and setting the stage for the next book as the epilogue shows, but yeah, it felt too seperate from everything. Also, can i say i was seriously disappointed with how (view spoiler)[.Sheltatha Lore and her sisters were disposed of. Like c'mon Erikson, you didn't have to end my girls like that. Felt too easy. (hide spoiler)]

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That being said, Reaper's Gale does provide a very excellent theme of giving answers. An answering of sorts: to tyranny from gods, mad emperors and subjugation, to family who forsake, to love even though that was a weird part to be honest, to forgiveness sought too late, to friendship.

I was afraid i was going to be disappointed at some point but Erickson continues to prove loving this series is totally woth it.

All in all, read this book and in the famous, eternal words of Karsa Orlong, WITNESS!!

Abdul H

Sheila

I CAN NO LONGER EXPRESS HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS SERIES WITH WORDS. ONLY WITH GIFS.



(every time Quick Ben appears istg)


& to you Mr. Erikson I say

Xavier Roy

I was a bit confused initially, but slowly things fell in place...

As Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, the Letherii secret police launch a reign of terror against their own people, conspiracies rock the palace, and the far-seeing Errant is suddenly blind to the future, while the Edur fleet draws ever closer and a band of fugitives embarks on a perilous quest out of the empire. Simultaneous. 30,000 first printing.

Jenna Kathleen

I now understand why fans call it Weeper's Gale.

Like MT, the Letherii storyline took me longer to get into than some of the other Malazan books. In RG, Erikson has undertaken more storylines with more characters while at the same time trying to close off some stories. I wasn't sure he could bring it all together at the end, but by now, I should expect nothing but greatness from him.

I would have to say that my favourite storylines in RG were the ones that got the least amount of pages. I didn't dislike the others, but I found myself being drawn to characters I already knew. Karsa and Icarium's POVs are the most memorable in my mind, but all of the Malazan characters were a welcome addition to the novel after book one. A couple of my favourite stories: Tehol and Bugg, Toc, Samar Dev, Icarium, Karsa, Silchas Ruin, Quick Ben.

Chapter 22 was legendary. It was one of the best chapters in the whole series and I'm still in shock, but it seems (view spoiler)[Toc will still have a role even though he died, so there is some good news for my favourite one-eyed character (hide spoiler)]. This chapter, and the last book of the novel in general, was flipped between POVs so perfectly; I really didn't want to put the book down at that point.

Ben Nathan

Remarkable. I can't speak highly enough about this series. The number of times I had to stop and just revel in the glory of some of the beats in this story... Very high at the end. It felt bigger than most series finales. Just awesome.

Jeanne L Collier

The Letherii Empire is in turmoil. Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, while the Errant, once a farseeing god, appears suddenly blind to the future. Driven by the corruption and self-interest, the empire edges ever-closer to all-out war with its neighbouring kingdoms. And the great Edur fleet draws ominously ever closer. With Karsa Orlong and Icarium Lifestealer among its warriors, that blood will be spilled is certain. But a band of fugitives look to escape from Lether. One of them, Fear Sengar, seeks the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye, for he hopes that with its help, they might halt the Tiste Edur and so save the emperor, his brother. But another is Scabandari's old enemy: Silchas Ruin, brother of Anomander Rake. He carries scars inflicted by Scabandari, and such bloodshed cannot go unanswered. There is to be a reckoning and it will be on an unimaginable scale...

André Nóbrega

Alivia Lulay

A clash of warriors draws closer as Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, surrounded by sycophants and agents of his Machiavellian chancellor. Against this backdrop, a band of fugitives seek a way out of the empire, but on

Reaper's Gale (Malazan Book of Fallen 7) (Malazan Book of the Fallen)

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